jump to navigation

Stuff. He Sent Me Some Stuff! October 30, 2008

Posted by Emily in : Daily Life, Family, Little Man Dallin, My Handsome Husband, Texas, Utah , 2comments

Some big changes have been made around our camp.

David packed his bags (okay so I packed them) and drove out to Shreveport, Louisiana last week to work in a Psych hospital for six weeks.

The kids and I packed our things and drove out to my parents house to stay with them during this time.  I mean, we figured David’s parents have had the opportunity to listen to Dallin wail for three months, why not share the love?

Now my parents get to listen to him.  And after three days of listening to Dallin cry, they are no longer offering to babysit.  They are amazed at my patience, and wonder how I deal with ‘the little screamer.’

What’s my secret?  I’ve got selective hearing, just like my dad does.

Today, I received a big fat box of winter clothes, coats, and boots from my husband who stopped by our storage unit in Dallas last week.

When the box arrived, I SHRIEKED in excitement!

My mom wasn’t sure why I was so ecstatic over clothes, so I explained that they were my clothes that I haven’t seen in a while (like three years) and it was like seeing old friends.  When I pulled out my winter coats saying, “This camel colored wool coat is for FREEZING weather.  See how it comes to my ankles?  And this gray wool coat is for everyday wear, see how it is knee length?  And this is my ski jacket, and this is my indoor jacket, and this is my nice casual jacket, and then  . . .”

And then I just got excited thinking about the reunion I’ll have with all my stuff when my gypsy days are over and we live like a normal family again.

All together.

In one place.

With our own stuff.

For a few years.

I look forward to that day.  But in the mean time, I LOVE my husband for taking the time to sift through hundreds of boxes in our storage unit to find me some winter clothes.

Now, I won’t freeze my buns off this winter.

Two Going on Ten October 25, 2008

Posted by Emily in : Family, Holidays, Princess Hannah , 4comments

I have been listening to Hannah hum herself to sleep for the last hour.  She is such a sassy little thing, staying up past her bedtime.

WAY PAST HER BEDTIME.

I told David I would take extra special care of our kidlets during his six week absence, and I TOTALLY am.  Hannah’s dinner was almost exclusively Halloween candy from the party she attended this afternoon.  I mean, David likes candy, and every once in a while, he too could be accused of eating candy for a meal, so I think he’ll approve of Hannah’s dinner.  Hey, if you are what you eat, Hannah will be sweet.  Right?

Hannah is two going on 10.  She was the only two year old at her cousin’s Halloween party full of 10 year old little girls.  As true tween girls, they put on a Hannah Montana soundtrack and EVERY SINGLE GIRL IN THAT ROOM SANG EVERY LYRIC TO EVERY SONG.



Hannah tried to dance and sing along too, and out of the blue she yelled “WINNIE THE POOH!”

Thank goodness, SHE’S STILL TWO.

All Alone With Lots of Family October 24, 2008

Posted by Emily in : Daily Life, Family, My Handsome Husband, Texas, Utah , 4comments

I am now a lone woman in the Garden of Eden.  Except I have my children around, and my parents, and my in-laws, and come to think of it . . . most of my extended family is near me.  BUT THAT ISN’T THE POINT.

David pulled out of the driveway this morning in our very loyal car, headed to Shreveport, Louisiana for a six week Psych rotation.  Since he is traveling alone, (no kids that have needs like every 10 seconds, no dogs that also have needs, and no wife to chat his ear off) he should make the drive in record time.  Did I mention he is a GUY traveling ALONE?  That also means little to no pit stops too.  I’m sure he’ll be in Dallas by tomorrow morning.

We are spur of the moment people, so finding out yesterday that he could go to LA for a Psych rotation starting Monday was not too short a notice.  THIS IS HOW WE OPERATE.

However, I did look like a discheveled housewife yesterday as a I ran around the house, packing all non-essential items to go back to our storage unit in Dallas.  (Becasue remember how we have been living on the bare minimum for almost three years now?  Everything we own is in a storage until in Dallas.  Thankfully, our gypsi days are coming to an end at the end of this year.)

Can I express how happy I am that Dallas is indeed ON THE WAY to Shreveport?  Stopping in Dallas is a must, because I MUST have David sort through our storage unit and find me some boots (a few pairs should do the trick) and coats!  I need winter clothing sent ASAP!

We are looking forward to the clinical phase of medical school, and we’re sad to be apart for a few weeks, but it will be worth it in the end.  Like in a few years, WHEN HE HAS A PAYCHECK.

I REALLY look forward to that day.  And the day I get a huge box from UPS with LOTS of winter clothing.

Because I Haven’t Exploited Her Enough October 22, 2008

Posted by Emily in : Daily Life, Friends, Princess Hannah, Utah , 5comments

After three years apart, my old business partner (with our bridal store) and I got together today.  In the last three years, we have both had two children (making a total of five kids for her.  I’m gasping for air just THINKING about raising five kids, let alone incubating and birthing them!) and lived out of the country (she lived in the Czech Republic and I lived in the Caribbean).  We were anxious to see one another and to meet each others new additions.

She fell in love with Hannah and asked me if she was modeling.  When I told her, NO, she gasped.

“Emily, you REALLY should.  If you don’t take her to an agency, I will.”



And then I got to thinking . . .

Allyse (the namesake of Allyses Bridal in Utah) really would take Hannah to an agency.  She is assertive like that.  And . . . maybe I should take Hannah to an agency? I mean, I obviously haven’t exploited her enough on my blog. :)



I’m not sure how much longer we’ll be in Utah, but I plan to contact some agencies this week.  I guess we’ll find out if I just think she’s cute, or if she really is cute.

Smarty Pants Me October 18, 2008

Posted by Emily in : Holidays, Little Man Dallin, Princess Hannah, Utah , 5comments

I know some of you out there depend on my vast knowledge of shopping malls.  Because of this, I thought I would pass along a valuable nugget of mall information regarding Halloween.

Did you know you can Trick or Treat at the mall?  Because you can.  And zillions of kids turn out every year to go Trick or Treating to stores instead of houses.  I looked forward to working Halloween every year to see all the cute little kids that made it into our store for treats.

You can Trick or Treat at any time of the day (well, you might want to contact your local mall to find out for sure, but the malls I worked at had kids coming in at 10:00 AM) ALL DAY LONG.

Why is this great?  Well, what if your kid secretly goes to bed kind of early and you want them to score some great candy for you?  What if you want to take your kid in the afternoon?  What if you don’t know or like your neighbors?  What if it is too cold outside?  What if your kid looks impossibly cute and you want as many people as possible to see them?  These are just a few questions to think about when considering going to the mall instead of the alternative; going DOOR TO DOOR in the DARK when it may be FREEZING COLD.

I plan to take Hannah and Dallin to the mall to score some good sugar.  That night, I’ll even let Hannah stay up to see some of the Trick or Treaters that come to the door.

What a treat that will be for her.

I know what you’re all thinking right now . . . I’m such a smarty pants.

Saba Friends, in Utah! October 16, 2008

Posted by Emily in : Family, Friends, Princess Hannah, Saba, Utah , 3comments

A couple nights ago, we met up with some of our Saba friends, the Allphins.  They are in Utah for a few weeks (they live in Arizona) while Chris finishes his last medical school rotation.  This is the second time we have been able to see them in Utah since we both left the tiny island of Saba.

Lacy and I will always have a special bond . . . we were the two crazy American chicks that DARED to have a baby in the Caribbean.  We had the same doctor, and delivered in the same hospital in Sint Maarten exactly two months apart.  We wanted our little Dutch babies to meet again (since they were just babies the last time they hung out) and of course everyone hit it off.



We enjoyed walking through a corn maze where Sheridan, (the blond kid with the blue jacket) led the way.



(Canyon, Sheridan, and Hannah)

The kids enjoyed everything, including fake pumpkins, real pumpkins, and giant bouncy toys that Hannah lovingly referred to as a “JUMPALINE!”

We had a great time and wish we could see more of our Saba friends!

Mighty Fine Centerpiece October 15, 2008

Posted by Emily in : Daily Life, Family, Little Man Dallin, My Handsome Husband, Princess Hannah , 2comments

Thanks to David and Hannah, I am shoving my face full of freshly cooked pumpkin seeds tonight.  For Family Home Evening (or in our case, Family Home “afternoon” since Hannah goes to bed so early) David carved a pumpkin while Hannah helped, and I wore Dallin.



Actually, Hannah mostly watched (since there were knives and cutting was involved) and said to David, “IT’S MY TURN!” no less than 75 times.



We’re so proud of our little ewe-I-never-touch-anything-dirty-or-sticky-or-messy child for actually sticking her hand into the mush of pumpkins guts.  She was on a serious mission to pick out the seeds and put them in another bowl for me.  This activity lasted about 30 seconds.  It’s really, really hard for a two year old to focus on something longer than that.



Being the bland-o-plain-Jane-mom that I am, I cut out one of the basic pictures in the Pumpkin Masters book of a happy Jack-o-lantern.  When David saw the picture I had prepared for them, he took one look at the lame-o picture and said, “That’s lame.  We need to do DORA!  Hannah would LOVE it.”

Oh boy, that was an understatement.

DORA IS LIKE OUR THIRD CHILD.  WE HAVE DORA EVERYTHING.  Dora yogurt, spoons, forks, shirts, backpack, and much more.  Several times throughout the day, you can hear Hannah asking to watch Dora, and if it’s not on, she’ll want to know exactly when it is on.  Our lives are in a constant circle of when the show is on, and when it will be on again.  DORA IS HANNAH’S BEST FRIEND.



David demonstrated his mad pumpkin carving skills, and a life-like Dora glowed through the pumpkin as we enjoyed the smell of the candle burning in it.  Hannah was beside herself screaming “DORA!  THE EXPLORE-HER!” as if we so obviously couldn’t tell who the ubiquitous face belonged to.

I guarantee more dancing and singing in the morning when Hannah realizes this Dora pumpkin slept overnight, in our house, on the kitchen table.  I’m not sure how we’ll get her to concentrate on eating breakfast with this fine centerpiece staring her down.

She FINALLY Gets the Concept of “Cold!” October 14, 2008

Posted by Emily in : Daily Life, Family, My Former Dog Children, My Handsome Husband, Princess Hannah, Utah , 4comments

On Sunday morning, we woke up to a blanket of snow covering the ground.  When Hannah woke up, I whisked her out of her bed and over to the window to look at it.  Completely taken in by this white powder, she demanded to go outside to see it.  (This was Hannah’s first experience seeing snow)  I explained how it was cold and she was like, cold?  What is cold?  I am a Caribbean Baby!  I don’t know cold!

I found her a snow suit and boots (grandma and grandpa have everything around here) and bundled her up like the kid on The Christmas Story to experience the 1/2 inch of snow on the ground.  As she walked down the steps from the back porch to the snow, three things happened:

First, she very thoughtfully and deliberately demonstrated with her hand that all of the white stuff was clearly a MESS.  YES, A MESS.

Second: She refused to eat the snow even after I demonstrated the art of selecting and eating freshly fallen snow.

Third: She complained to me that she was cold.  OR rather, she said, “I’m too cold!”  Apparently, she gets the “cold” concept.



Hannah watching the snow fall.



Look at this cute face experiencing falling snow for the first time!



Inside, Dave and Paris (our only dog now, sniff, sniff) were warming their tootsies by the fire.



Hannah also warmed up by the fire, which was also a first for her.

So there you have it.  Three firsts for Hannah: snow, cold, and fire.

Daddy’s Little Assistant October 13, 2008

Posted by Emily in : Daily Life, Family, Friends, My Handsome Husband, Pregnancy, Princess Hannah, Projects, Saba, Thoughts , 4comments

Twice a month, Lowe’s has a workshop for kids where they can make a toy for FREE.  We checked it out on Saturday, and of course, Hannah loved it.  She and David (mostly David actually) made a glow in the dark skeleton out of wood.

Hannah took her job (of looking cute and trying to help) very, very seriously.  I mean, good assistants wear safety goggles, right?







Hannah loves her new toy, apron, and goggles she got for free.  The next time you’re itching for something to do with your kids on a Saturday morning, check out this workshop!



Hannah LOVED her goggles so much (she referred to them as her glasses) she refused to take them off.  So here she is walking around the store, in full gear.  If she was a little taller, people would probably ask her for help.

Thanks for the recommendation Meghan!

Mini Me October 11, 2008

Posted by Emily in : Daily Life, Princess Hannah, Thoughts , 2comments

It has been brought to my attention that the following behavior isn’t normal for a toddler:  Hannah allows me (as in sits still, with no fussing or squirming) to brush and floss her teeth, pick her nose (always a highlight for me) and cut her fingernails.  She sits very quietly and patiently while I do these things.  She obviously knows how important it is to have personal hygiene.

Yesterday, she asked me to stick my giant blow dryer and diffuser on her head so she could have curly hair like me.  Do you know how cute it is to have your kid want to look like you?

WAY CUTE.



All I have to say is THANK YOU HANNAH for being so easy going.  I have more than my hands full with Dallin.  I’m not sure he’ll allow me to pick his nose the way you do.